Garment conveyor



C. O. sATTERFlELD June 13, 1967 GARMENT CONVEYOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 3, 1966 June 13, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 5. 1966 I Ili'fidlu in IF-n t mnllv-l llmi-ula nilise III- nl 3,324,988 GARMENT CONVEYOR Charles 0. Satterfield, 117 Barton Ave., Chattanooga, Tenn. 37405 Filed Oct. 3, 1966, Ser. No. 583,672 Claims. (Cl. 19828) This invention relates to systems for conveying clothing apparel (garments) and the like disposed on hangers, and is concerned with an improvement in garment conveyors of the type in which an endless chain mechanism, running on sprockets in a groove set into the surface of a wall, carries hanger-hung garments from one floor to another floor (or, more broadly, from one room to another). The invention is particularly directed to mechanism for transferring a garment hanger from a conveyor to a stationary receiver therefor at a receiving station along the flight of said conveyor. The invention is particularly applicable to a garment conveyor which is arranged in essentially one vertical plane and provided with means for automatically unloading garment hangers, at a level above or below the loading level, onto a suitable receiving rail.

In general aspect, the apparatus of the present invention includes an endless chain conveyor which is disposed in a generally vertical plane and arranged (over suitable sprockets) in a rectilinear path which includes a plurality of (e.g., two) loci-at different levels-wherein the path of the chain changes direction from horizontal to downward vertical. The path of the chain preferably is within a recess in a member (wall or panel or cover plate) which covers the entire mechanism of the conveyor except for a continuous narrow slot paralleling the aforesaid rectilinear path. Pick-up pins are secured at spaced intervals along the chain, the free ends of the pins, (i.e., the ends remote from the chain) protruding through said slot into position to receive thereon the hooks of garment hangers. The chain is caused to move in a predetermined path by means of a canventional drive train consisting essentially of electric motor, speed reducer, drive belt (or, chain) and driving sprocket over which latter the conveyor chain is trained.

At at least two of the aforesaid loci where the direction of travel of the chain changes from horizontal to downward vertical there are positioned inclined but generally horizontal take-elf rods each of which extends from adjacent a conveyor chain sprocket to a storage rack or the like. In the case of each of the take-off rods, one end of the rod is either the axis of the associated idler sprocket or coaxial with said sprocket axis, and extends slightly downwardly and generally normal to the plane of the sprocket for a substantial distance. The relationship of the take-off rod to the path of the conveyor is such that, when a hanger is hung on a pin with its hook pointing in the direction of travel of the conveyor, as the hanger strikes the take-off rod the conveyors path begins to change from horizontal to vertically downward: when the hanger is thus stopped by the take-off rod the pin on which the hanger had been supported runs out from under the hanger hook leaving the hanger suspended from the take-off rod. Because of the inclination of the take-off rod, the hanger spontaneously slides downwardly on the rod, i.e., away from the conveyor, to a place of further disposition, i.e., to a storage rack or to a delivery station or the like.

The invention will now be described with greater particularity and with reference to the appended drawing, in which FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of an apparatus embodying the principles of the present invention;

United States Patent 0 ice FIG. 2 is a partial view, in perspective, of the apparatus showing garment-laden hangers and empty hangers being moved along the path of the conveyor;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view showing a pick-up pin carried by a conveyor and with its hanger-receiving end projecting through a slot in a cover member for the apparatus;

FIG. 4 is a detail view showing the relative positions of the hanger hook (and pick-up pin) and co-operating take-off rod immediately prior to transfer of hanger from conveyor to take-off rod; and

FIG. 5 is a front elevational view of a portion of a wall surface concealing the conveyor save for the pickup pins protruding through the slOt provided therefor in the wall surface.

The apparatus for the present invention can largely be housed in a channel-type housing enclosing the conveyor except for the spaced article-carrying means substantially horizontally protruding through a slot in one face or side of the housing; or, the apparatus can-as here illustrated-largely be concealed in a recess provided within a wall or partition of a building, access to which recess is had by means of a slot paralleling the route of the conveyor. In the drawing, such partition is indicated at 1, with a slot 2 exposing a link chain conveyor 3. This conveyor chain is trained about idler sprockets 5, 5 as shown, in a pattern of an inverted reversed L providing transfer corners at UL and LL. Concealed behind the surface of partition 1 are driving means for the conveyor, the same including an electric motor 6, speed reducing mechanism 7 and driving sprocket 8 together with the conventional driving belt 9 between motor and speed reducer and driving belt 10 between speed reducer and driving sprocket. The electric motor is connectedby conventional means indicated at 12with a conventional source of electric current, in which connection means there is interposed a conventional means, e.g., switch 13 for actuating said motor and, hence, said conveyor chain.

At spaced intervals along the conveyor chain 3 are pick-up pins 15, 15 on which garment hangers 16, 16 may be hung by their hooks 17, 17. Pins 15, 15 are secured, as by welding or by threaded connection, to links of chain 3, and may be and preferably are simple longitudinally extending supports for hangers. To retain a hanger against accidental slipping off of the pin, the latter may terminate in an enlarged head 18.

A partition member or batlle, indicated at 20 may be disposed between and generally parallel to the up-flight and the down-flight of conveyor 3 for shielding garments moving in different directions.

The over-all conveyor system is of the vertical type and, as shown, may .be designed to move garments (disposedon hangers) from a first room to a second room above the first room, and, conversely, to move garments from an upper to a lower room.

For automatically removing hangers from pins supporting them, there are provided take-off rods 23, 23 which may (as shown) be integral with the shafts of pinions. 5 and 8 which are located at upper (indicated at UL) and lower (indicated at LL) loci where the generally horizontal travel of conveyor chain 3 turns to vertically downward travel. Take-up rods 23, 23, while generally horizontal, slope downward at an angle sufficiently steep that a hanger placed thereon at a point adjacent its associated sprocket slides of its own accord, away from the pin 15 on which it had been hung and to a predetermined remote locus.

As is shown in detail in FIG. 4, the sprocket 5 has such diameter as to allow the terminal tip 171 of a hanger 16 to clear the take-off rod 23, when conveyor chain 3 is moving in horizontal direction, while rod 23 engages (catches) hook 17 per se. When hanger 16 is caught, at its hook 17, by upper take-off rod 23, the 90 change in direction of travel of conveyor chain 3 causes pin 15 to move downwardly and away from hanger 116, leaving the latter on take-off rod 23 where it gravitates to a locus (e.g., a storage area) remote from the transfer point.

Conversely, a garment'laden hanger in such upper room may be hung on an appropriate pick-up pin, on chain 3, and by the latter be moved to the lower take-off locus LL at which lower point the hanger is automatically removed from pin 15 by lower take-off rod 23 and slid to a locus of further handling.

I claim:

1. In a garment conveyor, disposed in essentially one vertical plane, for carrying hanger-hung garments from one level to another level, which garment conveyor comprises a driving pulley member and a plurality of idler pulley members, driving means for said driving pulley member and an endless conveyor member trained over said driving and idler pulley members to form a generally vertical twodimensional rectilinear figure, said endless conveyor member having a plurality of spaced generally horizontal pick'up members extending laterally therefrom along one side thereof on which pick-up members garment hangers may be hooked, the improvement which comprises an automatic dofier for a hanger-hung garment suspended from a pick-up member consisting essentially of an inclined rod disposed (1) immediately adjacent an idler pulley member over which member said endless conveyor member changes direction of travel from substantially horizontal to generally downwardly vertical and (2) in the path of such garment hanger, said rod, said idler pulley member and the hook of such hanger being so dimensioned and arranged that as the direction of travel of such hanger changes from .generally horizontal to generally downwardly vertical said rod engages and restrains the hook of such hanger whilst the pick-up member moves downwardly and away from engagement with the book of such hanger.

2. A garment conveyor for carrying hanger-hung garments from one ltvel to another level, which comprises a driving sprocket and a plurality of idler sprockets arranged in essentially one vertical plane; means for driving said driving sprocket; an endless conveyor chain trained over said driving sprocket and said idler sprockets to form an essentially rectilinear two-dimensional figure including at least one pivot point, provided by a sprocket, at which the direction of travel of said endless conveyor chain changes from generally horizontal to generally downwardly vertical; a plurality of spaced, generally horizontal pick-up pins extending laterally from said endless conveyor chain in one direction; at least one garment hanger having a hook for suspension on one of said pick-up pins; and at said pivot point an inclined take-01f rod extending in said one direction and in the path of said hanger and being so disposed with respect to said sprocket and said pick-up pin as to engage said hook and to transfer said hanger hook onto said rod whilst said pick-up pin descends out of contact with said hanger hook.

3. The garment conveyor defined in claim 2, characterized in that said take-off rod is inclined at such an angle that a hanger laden with a garment automatically slides on said rod away from said path.

4. The garment conveyor defined in claim 2, in which said conveyor chain and sprockets and driving means are disposed behind a wall member having therein a slot so configured as to coincide with said two-dimensional figure, said pick-up pins protruding through said slot.

5. The garment conveyor defined in claim 2, further comprising a partition member vertically disposed within a part of said rectilinear figure and spaced between upward and downward flights of said endless conveyor memher to shield hanger-hung garments moving in one direction from hanger-hung garments moving in the opposite direction.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,282,400 11/1966 Jonson 198-38 EVON C. BLUNK, Primary Examiner.

EDWARD A. SROKA, Examiner. 

1. IN A GARMENT CONVEYOR, DISPOSED IN ESSENTIALLY ONE VERTICAL PLANE, FOR CARRYING HANGER-HUNG GARMENTS FROM ONE LEVEL TO ANOTHER LEVEL, WHICH GARMENT CONVEYOR COMPRISES A DRIVING PULLEY MEMBER AND A PLURALITY OF IDLER PULLEY MEMBERS, DRIVING MEANS FOR SAID DRIVING PULLEY MEMBER AND AN ENDLESS CONVEYOR MEMBER TRAINED OVER SAID DRIVING AND IDLER PULLEY MEMBERS TO FORM A GENERALLY VERTICAL TWO-DIMENSIONAL RECTILINEAR FIGURE, SAID ENDLESS CONVEYOR MEMBER HAVING A PLURALITY OF SPACED GENERALLY HORIZONTAL PICK-UP MEMBERS EXTENDING LATERALLY THEREFROM ALONG ONE SIDE THEREOF ON WHICH PICK-UP MEMBERS GARMENT HANGERS MAY BE HOOKED, THE IMPROVEMENT WHICH COMPRISES AN AUTOMATIC DOFFER FOR A HANGER-HUNG GARMENT SUSPENDED FROM A PICK-UP MEMBER CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF AN INCLINED ROD DISPOSED (1) IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT AN IDLER PULLEY MEMBER OVER WHICH MEMBER SAID ENDLESS CONVEYOR MEMBER CHANGES DIRECTION OF TRAVEL FROM SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL TO GENERALLY DOWNWARDLY VERTICAL AND (2) IN THE PATH OF SUCH GARMENT HANGER, SAID ROD, AND IDLER PULLEY MEMBER AND THE HOOK OF SUCH HANGER BEING SO DIMENSIONED AND ARRANGED HTHAT AS THE DIRECTION OF TRAVEL OF SUCH HANGER CHANGES FROM GENERALLY HORIZONTAL TO GENERALLY DOWNWARDLY VERTICAL SAID ROD ENGAGES AND RESTRAINS THE HOOK OF SUCH HANGER WHILST THE PICK-UP MEMBER MOVES DOWNWARDLY AND AWAY FROM ENGAGEMENT WITH THE HOOK OF SUCH HANGER. 